Connection
by Gemmaaaaa
Summary: But if they are ever caught… He could be expelled. Jedi are not forbidden to sleep with Jedi, however she is still a Padawan to Master Windu… His refusal to put her forward for the trials adds anger to the pot of emotions boiling between them. It's inappropriate; Knights cannot be seen to have affairs with Padawans.
1. Chapter 1

She knows he's there before the door to her quarters slide open, allowing him to enter without asking permission. She felt him the moment he entered the Temple, returning from yet another crusade with Obi-Wan by his side… Even half-way across the Galaxy Padme felt him still, every scrape of his skin, every emotion surging through his chest, she felt it all. She always has… At least, for as long as she can remember. Their connection is like nothing else, nobody can explain why when she broke her arm at twelve years old, seven year old Skywalker cried out in pain from the other side of the Temple, or how they're able to predict the other's next move without speaking or always, always know where the other is. They've lied countless times to their Masters – or former Master in Anakin's case – and the council over the past few years, claiming their connection has fizzled, diminished almost entirely. It's their secret now; and it's easy to carry, considering they've always kept certain elements of this bond to themselves.

He doesn't speak when he steps into the small room, though she knows he wants to. It's been a long month since they've been this close yet she's not about to run into his arms as he'd like her to. She's busy. Despite his presence, she narrows her eyes, concentrating. The blaster is heavier in her hands than she'd originally anticipated, but the practice is paying off and the weapon remains steady in her grasp. Aiming for the crudely drawn target on the piece of flimsi pinned up to the wall, she ignores his gentle probing through the Force. _Not now._

After that he watches her without comment, crossing his arms across his chest and leans back against the wall. She feels him smile, torn between amusement and pride as always when he watches her training and fights not to return it. She's good with her lightsaber, more than good, she's one of the best, subtle in her attacks, quick on her feet so much so that she's been known to defeat not only Master's like Kenobi and Windu in training but Anakin too. Something she knows he finds half arousing, half infuriating. After their sessions he'll either fuck her or storm off. However, when it comes to blasters, Padme has a lot of work to do. If only the wise Masters would allow her to study outside her damned quarters and perhaps she'd progress…

Finally content with her aim, she pulls the trigger, and watches the shot miss the mark by inches. Damn it to Sith-hell! She lets out a low, frustrated growl and feels Anakin smirk behind her. If he's not careful his next stop tonight will be to the healers… Lowering the blaster, she gives into the temptation to turn around to see him. She may be irritated, but it's been a month and she's missed him. "Your hair is longer." Much longer, curls now fall to his neck, framing his face in an entirely new way… It's strange, given she's used to the cropped locks he's been so determined to keep even after being Knighted.

"Wasn't much time for haircuts in the Outer-rim. Besides, I like it." He shrugs easily, pushing himself up, off the wall to shrug off his cloak and throw it onto her small desk. Part of her thinks, he should not be this comfortable in her quarters, but the other doesn't know anything different. He's been coming here since they were children after all. He suits the hair, she thinks… Makes him look older, more… Rugged. Somehow it works with the old scar high on his cheek and boosts his attractiveness tenfold.

" _I thought you'd like it."_ His voice invades her mind suddenly, smug as always. She's past cursing his ability to hear her thoughts as easily as her own, it is merely part of their lives and she's come to accept it, as he's long accepted her ability to hear his own. The difference is, Anakin opens himself to her easily, willingly and Padme wishes from time to time she could close herself to him, just for a little while. It's one of the stranger parts of their bond, sometimes useful, sometimes delightfully fun and others… Others it's a downright pain in the backside.

" _You thought wrong. It's awful."_ He only rolls his eyes in response, because even without hearing her thoughts he knows she's lying. She thinks that very little would change between them if the Force hadn't granted them such a connection, she can't fathom them being any different than what they are now. There has been much that to bring them to this, years of friendship, of training side by side, discovering this bond between them… It's all brought them here. Though it has not always been quite so easy. Padme still remembers walking in on him kissing Aayla Secura once when they were teenagers…

Of course, he never let _her_ go near any other boy. His possessiveness knows no bounds and though she isn't afraid to push him back, remind him she belongs to no-one but herself, it is inescapable. She could run to the furthest corners of the galaxy and he'd come kicking through the door to take her back. In Anakin's eyes, she's his… Belongs to him body and soul… And perhaps the knowledge should frighten her more than it does, but it is sweetened somewhat by the existence of his complete and utter devotion to her. As he sees her as his, Anakin Skywalker is hers. It is who they are, partners more so than the legendary pair he and Kenobi make, comrades of the Order, Jedi brethren, lovers. Their relationship is the strangest combination of passion, frustration, affection, and an all-consuming, galaxy defying _need_ for one another.

But if they are ever caught… He could be expelled. Jedi are not forbidden to sleep with Jedi, however she is still a Padawan to Master Windu… His refusal to put her forward for the trials adds anger to the pot of emotions boiling between them. It's inappropriate; Knights cannot be seen to have affairs with Padawans. He has a Padawan of his own! Their entire lives would be shattered to a thousand pieces and so they're condemned to secrecy. Even after she is put through the trials, things cannot change. Sleeping together is one thing, but what they have… It is more. It is attachment forbidden by the Code; they'd be separated, kept apart for Force knows how long.

Padme would like to think she'd survive it, but she _knows_ it would tear her apart every bit as much as it would him.

There's a certain thrill to it, of course… Getting swept away in the throes of passion while hidden in a small alcove as other Jedi, Masters, Padawans and Younglings alike pass, blissfully unaware of what's happening, waiting for him to sneak into her quarters at night, sending each other coded messages that only the other can decipher… All of it. Padme has always been open and ready for adventure; it's only natural that she'd be swept away by the likes of Anakin Skywalker.

"If you keep doing this, you're going to destroy the wall." She hears him speak aloud, though there's no difference if his voice is in her mind, or in the air between them. His comment makes her grip the weapon tighter, because he's _always_ trying to instruct her… To correct her about one thing or another. She is _not_ his Padawan! She's more than capable of doing things on her own without his help.

" _I know that._ That's why it's set to stun." She turns back toward the target, raises the blaster and narrows her eyes. He's growing frustrated at her lack of attention and she smirks, _good._ His swollen ego needs stepping on every now and again; especially now the entire Republic seems to have fallen in love with him. _The Hero With No Fear…_ Poster boy for the war effort.

"Don't call me that." He growls behind her and the smirk falls. She knows how much he hates that title, Anakin Skywalker is far from without fear. Padme almost believes he's entirely made up of it… But not the usual kind of fear everyone else feels. It's a crippling kind, a beast in his chest that awakens from time to time to torment him. She's always wished this bond allowed her a way to slay it, to free him from the shackles of anxiety and angst he carries on those tired shoulders.

"Is that a command?" She fires again, and misses once more. By less this time, but enough to make her want to throw the damned blaster at the wall. The clones make this look so easy! Why can't she master it too?

"Well technically I am your superior my love." She knows he's smirking without looking at him, she can feel it. "You have to do as I say."

"Well we can't all be the youngest Jedi ever Knighted." Padme quips, lowering the weapon and turning to face him again. For the first time it strikes her that she must make an odd sight, wielding a blaster while clad in her pretty white nightgown. Perhaps she should be self-conscious but she's with Anakin… He'd never allow such a thing. "And don't call _me that_."

"Why not? There's no one around to hear… And it's who you are." Taking a deep breath, she manages to smile at him for the first time since his arrival, and tries not to roll her eyes at him at the same time. They aren't in one of those awful HoloNet romance movies where titles such as _my love_ are thrown around constantly. They're Jedi, keepers of the peace, warriors… They are not the kind of people who refer to one another as "love".

"Who I am… Is someone who can't work this blaster for the life of me." She grits her teeth as he approaches, amused as always when they're together. An embrace she once might have called strange comes over her, making her skin tingle, as he reaches out with the Force to soothe her. He's good at that, both physically and mentally, where her talents lay with words, his are in his touch.

"You're thinking too much." He states, as if it's obvious.

"How is it possible to _think_ too much?" She questions, then rolls her eyes because what does _he_ know about blasters? "And if such a thing were possible, I wouldn't be doing it."

"Oh it's possible, and you _are_ doing it." A moment later very large, very calloused and scarred hands are resting on her shoulders, thumbs already beginning to circle away the tension in her muscles. Padme's more than used to Anakin's touch by now, but even still it's always electric, jolting her in the most pleasurable of ways even when it's something as innocent as this. She's never felt this in any other touch before, not Obi-Wan's or Master Windu's… No one's. It _must_ be unique to them, it must be. Still, she wishes she understood _why_ it's like this _?_ Because she loves him? Because he loves her? Because they are bonded? Perhaps it's one of those unexplainable mysteries of the Force.

"What…" She trails off, breath catching in her throat as he works away a particularly painful knot in her muscles. "What do you know about blasters?" He's a renowned warrior; she's seen it when they fight together, his talent with a lightsaber is… It's awe inspiring. And she knows how much work he puts into his training; it's not something that comes to him without dedicating countless hours of practice into his technique, so where has he had the time to master the art of blasters too?

"Rex is a great teacher." He murmurs quietly, warm breath tickling her ear as the words escape his lips. " _Relax_ my love." He says those words again, and Padme doesn't like what they awaken within her. Not at all. "Stop thinking."

"That might be easy for you _Chosen One_ but the rest of us actually have minds, and thoughts." She hears, and feels the rumble of his quiet chuckle against her back as he moves closer still, grip tightening on her shoulders.

"Clever." He breathes against her ear, "you're holding the blaster too low, tip it up a little."

Despite wanting to figure this out on her own, she's intoxicated by his touch, by his voice and scent… It's been so long since she's had him so close and part of her wants to forget blaster training altogether and push him down onto the bed. The tension is building between them and she knows that's _exactly_ what he wants. Perhaps unfortunately for them both, she is stronger in resisting such temptations than he is.

After one deep, calming breath, Padme takes his advice and points the barrel of the blaster slightly higher, ignoring the way Anakin's hands drift from her shoulders, down to the curve of her waist. Can't he just let her practice in peace? Yet she doesn't have the strength to push him away… Maybe Master Windu is right, she should meditate more. Perhaps then the Force will grant her some new defence against its Chosen One's assaults.

"That's it, pull your arms back just a bit…" She does as he instructs, frowning at this new, odd way of doing this. If it works, it works and she'll be happy enough. But if after all this, she still misses she'll shoot him, she swears it. It's the least he deserves for waltzing in here and disturbing her. "I'm _trying_ to help Padme." Anakin's voice interrupts her thoughts and once again she's close to rolling her eyes as he responds to them vocally.

"You're _distracting me._ "

"Distracting you? I thought I was teaching you." He quips, and she feels his lips twist up into a smirk as they ghost a kiss behind her ear. Now she's done it, she's unwittingly made this into _a game_ for him. Force give her strength. His warm breath caresses her ear, sending powerful shivers creeping down the length of her neck while his fingers tighten on her waist. He wants her to stop thinking? Impossible. Especially when he's doing all this… Fine, _fine!_ If he wants to play, she'll play.

"Ani…" She murmurs softly, turning her head _just_ enough to see him and more importantly, to let him see her. Pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, Padme sighs softly, breathily in just the way she knows warms his blood. It works, she feels the arousal coursing through his body already and reaches out, through the Force to create the sensation of her hand running through his hair, something she wishes she could do for real right now, but alas, the game must be played. "I've missed you." It's not a lie, she doesn't have to lie. She's missed him every day he's been gone, pinned for him, worried about him even though she feels what he feels. Everything. She felt the pain of the electricity tearing through his body three nights ago, wept because despite the soothing thoughts he projected onto her to mask or dull the pain somewhat, he was suffering and so she suffered with him.

"I've missed you too." He whispers, burying his face into the crook of her neck for a moment, hands tightening yet again on either side of her waist, and she lowers the blaster for a moment. That can… That can wait just a little bit. "Obi-Wan is a terrible substitute for your presence." Despite the ever tangible flurry of emotions boiling between them, she savours the chance to laugh. Kenobi and Skywalker… The dream team. People across the galaxy take a sigh of relief when they see the HoloNews report that those two have been dispatched to end a threat, because they never fail. Everyone is safer with the Master and Knight out there, fighting the battles and reaping win after win for the Republic.

" _I certainly hope you do not embrace Obi-Wan like this."_ She whispers into his mind and smirks when he laughs. " _I'd feel rather… Replaced."_

He presses his lips to the nape of her neck, not answering her quite yet but as long as his lips are doing this, Padme has no complaints… Force she's missed this… "I felt you the other night…" He whispers against her skin, making her frown. Felt her? What is he talking about? She hasn't done anything all that interesting the past few days… Training, reading in the Archives… Nothing that would capture his interest from across the galaxy. He reaches for one of her hands, freeing it from the weight of the blaster and brings it to her stomach. What is he doing? "I felt your fingers here." He covers her hand with his own for a second, then pushes her lower, until their fingers are between her legs, tearing a surprised gasp from her lips. "And… And _here._ " His voice comes out almost hoarse, he's tense behind her and the kisses he graces across her neck become harsher, teeth coming out to play.

"Anakin…" Arousal and embarrassment flush through her, battling for dominance. By the Force… He felt that? Of course he did. They always do, she's felt him… Take the edge off his hunger countless times over the years, feels his pleasure, his frustration… And sometimes if she reaches out through the Force, she can see what's in his mind, his fantasies and desires. _Her, always her._ And the same is for him, she'd momentarily forgotten the other night, when the frustration of missing him grew too much to ignore, that he'd know _exactly_ what she was doing.

"I felt everything," he continues, pausing to nip her skin none too gently, making her gasp. If he's marked her… "I heard you say my name." He uses his control of her hand to touch her – or rather make her touch herself – through the thin material of her nightgown. Swallowing, Padme opens her mouth but all that escapes is a strangled moan, quiet and breathless. "I saw what you wanted too." Her hips push closer to her hand as her eyes drift closed, even manipulating her own hand, he knows just what to do. Force have mercy… "It made me so…" He trails off, at a loss for words to describe the desperate desire she'd unwittingly awoken in him that night. He doesn't have to say it, she can feel it in his thoughts, it radiates off him now too. "So…" Suddenly, he uses his free hand on her waist to pull her flush against him, and his hips press against her back.

He's _hard_.

Immediately his mouth begins its good work once more, worshipping her, moving higher and higher, until he's teasing the skin just below her ear. To her horror the hand holding hers between her legs falls away in favour of pushing her hair away; off to her left shoulder as his lips descend to its twin. Her teeth sink desperately into her lip to keep back a moan, the very moan he _wants_ to hear.

"Anakin…" His teeth scrape across her pulse as those hands climb her body, slowly, feeling very curve of her, every inch he can through her nightgown until he fills his palms with her breasts, squeezing lightly. " _Anakin."_ She tries again to pull him back to reality, to push back the lust fogging his mind and clouding her own now too. His fingers find her rapidly hardening nipples and tug at them expertly.

"What?"

"I'm busy… And shouldn't you be reporting to the council?" He's just back from a month long mission with Obi-Wan, the Masters will wish to hear detailed reports of what happened… He shouldn't be here, with her. It's risky. She'd silently agreed to play this game of his, but she's beginning to feel like she's losing. Though if this is what losing feels like then… _Oh_ … Then maybe it isn't quite so terrible. Still, if Obi-Wan comes looking for him, she's willing to bet this will be one of the first stops.

"Stop thinking about Obi-Wan…" Anakin commands suddenly, voice hard, and Padme feels the first lick of jealousy awaken within him. She may be losing this game, but there are _other_ games she can play, ones she can win. Closing her eyes, she concentrates, thinking _entirely_ of Obi-Wan and lets the thoughts drift over into him. She's not attracted to the man, not at all, but that doesn't mean she can't pretend for a little bit.

"Why? He's rather handsome you know… Quiet too." He tenses behind her, hands lowering back down to her waist, "if I wanted to seduce him, I think I'd have to be the instigator. Perhaps sneak into his quarters at night wearing nothing but my cloak." Adding salt to the wound she uses a fantasy she _knows_ Anakin has and delights as his jealousy ignites fully. "I bet he's very… Toned beneath all the robes and heavy cloaks. I've heard many other women here talk about it when he's not around."

"I don't _care_ about the other woman." Anakin growls, angry suddenly and Padme knows she's done her job and done it _well_. Envy at not being the one occupying her thoughts is pouring out of him, seeping into the room and filling it with an entirely new kind of tension. He's so easy… It's never difficult to make Anakin jealous, and it's always oh so satisfying.

She continues mercilessly, loving his reactions to her words and how easily the Chosen One, the Son of the Force, falls prey to her manipulations with nothing more than words and sighs. "He'd watch wide eyed as I slip off the cloak and perhaps look away for a moment but he'd look at me, _all of me_ , bared just for him." Padme softly rubs her fingers between her legs again, closing her eyes and moans _just_ enough to seem like the idea of all this is arousing her. It'll drive him mad. "I think it would be slow… He'd fuck me so gently that I go half-mad, but I'll come with my legs tight around his waist and-"

Whatever words she was planning to speak are gone, lost as Anakin's hand grips hers and _yanks_ it away from her body, his thoughts are so quick, too quick to decipher but she knows the gist of it. _"You're mine._ " That possessiveness that lurks within his mind, always pacing, always on the edge explodes just as she knew it would, and his hands begin to gather the soft fabric of her nightgown up high enough for his hand to slip underneath and find her wet and wanting.

"Anakin," she moans, rocking her hips against his hand, one hand trembling beneath the weight of the blaster she's still holding onto. "Oh Anakin…"

In his jealously his mauls her skin, biting and licking and kissing everywhere. He's marking her, she thinks… Leaving purple bruises she'll struggle to cover up in some ridiculous bid to prove she's his. Usually she'd push him off and rush to the nearest mirror to see how bad it is and perhaps later she will, but right now, Padme is far too caught up in the sensations he's creating to even _think_ of moving. His thumb circles her clit, hard, and she drops the blaster completely, it falls to the ground with a loud clatter. The moment it's gone from her grasp, she forgets all about it.

Their thoughts are equally messy… They're so attuned now that she can barely tell who is thinking what and it's a confusing mess of words and feelings that neither attempt to make sense of. " _I love you so much you're mine don't stop please don't stop I've missed you so much mine your mine I need you."_

He unexpectedly spins her around to face him with so much force that for a moment all she can do is blink at him and register that he's stopped touching her… And she _needs_ him to start touching her again. Then, his lips are on hers and Padme's hands come up to cup his cheeks as she meets his passionate kiss and feels his arms circle her waist to pull her closer. She thinks that perhaps she's pushed him too far this time, her teasing bordering on cruel, especially by using his own Master in her descriptions. So she breaks the kiss as suddenly as he started it, and presses her lips to his neck, murmuring soft words into his mind. " _I love you… I've missed you. There's no one else, not in my mind or heart."_

" _Not even Obi-Wan?"_ He asks sourly and her lips curve upwards against his skin. Despite everything, he can be such a _child_ sometimes… She feels him fist his hand into her loose curls as her lips find a particularly sensitive spot beneath his jaw. She loves him… They're forbidden and their relationship would be found abhorrent to everyone around them, but she loves him… She always has and without a single doubt in her mind Padme knows she always will. Having him back here again, so close and touching her, it's as if the other half of her has been returned once more. The discomfort is gone, leaving her only with Anakin, his warmth and his embrace.

" _No one. It's only you Ani…"_ He pulls back, meeting her eye for a moment, filled with a renewed _need_ after her words; she sees it in his eyes, feels the arousal tearing through his body and more so feels the hard bulge in his trousers pressing against her stomach. "I love you." She says aloud, wanting to hear the words fall from her own tongue and fill the air between them. He needs something more, one final push and Padme knows _exactly_ what to do. "I love you and I'm yours." As she expected, everything shifts between them again, Anakin's hands grow gentler on her skin, and the lust in his eyes intensifies a thousand times over. Confirming that which he so believes to be true deep down in his chest, the primal possessiveness and male pride swells in victory and she allows him to have this. Just for tonight.

He kisses her again, briefly, deeply then pulls back and grasps her nightgown with his other hand too, pulling at it until it's off of her body completely. At the sight of her, his striking pools of blue darken with hunger and it fuels her own. There is nothing like being looked at by Anakin, he makes her feel raw, beautiful, wild… Like a siren luring her prey to their watery grave. Long past being shy about her body so openly displayed for him, Padme delights in it. Under his heated gaze she feels _wanted, loved._ How can she not feel such things, when he looks at her so ravenously, like he's debating on _exactly_ what he's going to do to her. With a gentle probe through the Force, she sees just how many ideas he has.

This time it's her who captures his lips, sliding her hand into his mane of curls and pressing her body against his. His own hands are far from idle, they roam her body slowly, enjoying the silky sensation of her skin beneath his and fills his palms with her rear, squeezing none too gently. His touch is all well and good, but she wants to feel him too… He's wearing far too many clothes for her liking so she tries to rectify the situation. She gets as far as ridding him of the leather tabard he wears before he catches her wrist to stop her. Opening her mouth, Padme plans to complain, to tempt him into stripping and just taking her now but he doesn't let her. He halts her complaints with one sharp push which sends her stumbling backward, landing on the small bed with a gasp.

Alas, he doesn't shed his clothes and climb over her, instead his lips leave a kiss on the inside of her knee, then higher and higher along her leg until he reaches the slickness of her thighs, where he bites and while she hisses and tries not to buck up, closer to his face, soothes the sting with his tongue. " _That is not where your mouth is best suited Ani…"_ Her mind whispers to his and she catches his smirk before he repeats the same process with her other leg.

The second time he comes close to exactly where she needs him most, he teases her cruelly, blowing cool air against her so her eyes slam shut as she moans weakly. Finally, _finally_ his tongue blesses her with its touch, but far too gently and much too slowly… Damn him and his teasing! Forever impatient with these things, Padme's hips rise and rock against him, desperate to find more... And at last he gives it. He doesn't give her gentle, what Anakin gives her is pleasure dancing the line of pain, there is nothing tender about the way his tongue worships her clit and it's exactly what she needs. One hand reaches down to tangle in his hair, gripping the locks tightly, encouraging him, keeping him in place, she isn't sure which.

When he stops again, pulling back and leaving her with a soft kiss to her burning flesh, she hisses, repeating every curse she's ever heard the clones say in her mind and it makes him grin. "You're a Sith!" She swears and means it. What other reason could there be for such cruelty? How else can he explain it? He kisses her thigh once more and she bucks her hips, desperate to make him give in and please her but darkened eyes meet hers across the slope of her body and he waits. Force, what does he want from her?

"Ani… Please…" She begs shamelessly, and feels terribly wanton. Once such a thing would have rendered speechless with embarrassment, but such times are long past. She'll give him what he wants if he'll return the favour. And if he does not… He shall meet the end of her lightsaber before dawn.

She catches him watching her from between her legs, eyes full of lust, and love and rather than infuriating her, she smiles. "I love you." She says again for possibly the hundredth time this night and is rewarded with the gentlest embrace through the Force. His hands travel across her legs, drifting higher and higher and he moves with them, coming to kneel before her as her legs bend and open for him.

"My Angel."

"Always."

Finally, with another grin, he reaches down and rids himself of the coarse robes then makes quick work of his boots and trousers. Padme watches him undress, hands coming up to comb through her hair, and accidently snagging on the Padawan braid her Master seems content to leave her wearing forever. Cursing mentally, she untangles herself from the damned thing and hears Anakin's amused laugh. "It's not funny."

"It is." He states, and then smirks. "Officially, I'm here to bring you the good news… I was going to tell you after…" Frowning, she braces herself on her forearms and sits up. Good news? What is he talking about? What news could possibly warrant him of all people delivering it to her personally?

"Master Windu has recommended you for the trials." He begins then pauses as her shock passes through him too. She's to be Knighted? Given she passes the trials of course, but… At last she'll be a full-fledged Knight, a General! She almost thought this day wouldn't come. She's been waiting for this for so long… Four standard years to be exact, ever since Anakin was Knighted after the fiasco of Geonosis. "Your trial hasn't been decided yet, but with you Angel, you're as good as Knighted already."

She takes a moment to glance out of the small window and murmur a quiet thanks to the Force… Suddenly she can't wait for morning, to seek out Master Windu and face whatever trial he deems fit for her abilities. She's buzzing with excitement, and it's impossible to stop the deliriously happy laugh that falls from her lips. He's proud of her, she can feel it, but more so, she's proud of _herself_. She's worked so hard… Trained herself to exhaustion day after day, makes herself useful in whatever ways she can out in the battlefields and now… Now it's being recognised!

Elated, Padme reaches up and pulls him down over her, hands dancing across his strong back as he kisses her breathless. The kiss is quickly is broken with a gasp however, as he pushes inside her slowly. Their eyes meet and a smile once more crosses her lips only to be returned by one of his own as he pulls back and thrusts into her again equally as slowly as before. Force have mercy… One hand comes to tangle in his hair while her legs wrap around him tightly, attempting to prompt him into moving faster, _deeper…_ All this teasing of his, she's had enough. She just wants him, his fire and passion and the primal flare she knows he can take her with.

All it takes is her tongue sliding into his mouth, her hand in his hair tightening and with the help of the Force, one _push_ to flip their position so she straddles him, legs bent and settled on either side of his hips. He watches her lustfully, mouth half open as she sinks down onto him once again, tearing pleasured noises from both their mouths. By the Force he feels so good… Pressing her palms to his chest she begins to move, the slow rise and fall of her hips meant to tease him as he's teased her but it's doomed from the start. It's not nearly enough to satisfy her tonight. His hands come up to touch her, to grip her waist and guide her movements but with a little concentration she pins his arms down, bent at the elbow and palms beneath his head. Trapped through the Force, all he can do is laugh and shake his head as she has her way with him.

Leaning down, Padme brushes her lips against his once, twice then whispers, "perhaps tonight, it's _you_ who belongs to _me_ Skywalker." She feels his shock, the hot crash of arousal borne of her words tearing through his body and flowing into her own through their connection. It fuels the burning between her legs as she moves faster, riding him harder, half moans and strangled cries falling from her lips as her head falls back. Through the Force she feels him touch her, rebellious as always, feels invisible hands cupping her breasts, pinching her hard nipples sending waves of pleasure spiking throughout her body. Even without moving, pinned down by her power, he has her breathless with pleasure.

" _Padme…"_ His voice invades her mind again, as she moves faster still, feeling him beginning to tense beneath her. The fire between them burns brighter, hotter, burning her, melting away everything that isn't them, this pleasure or their love. The ghost touch moves, and does what he tried to do, holding her waist, pulling her down onto him harder now as his impatient hips rise to meet hers thrust for thrust. "Come Angel…" He speaks aloud now, the invisible hands tightening, "come for me." His voice is rough, husky, breathing shallow as he holds back his own pleasure in favour of her own.

"Oh Anakin…" She pants, "Ani… _Force_ , Anakin…"

All the nights of missing him, wishing he were here, the scorching pleasure shared between them, increasing with every moment and intensified by their bond boils over and ecstasy explodes throughout her body. Lost to wave after wave of satisfaction, all she can do is rock her hips desperately against him, moaning and gasping his name all the while. Mere moments later he tenses further, barely breathing as her tired hips move, never once faltering above him. Her name is moaned either straight into her mind or past his lips, she isn't quite sure as he spills himself within her and she rides him through it until he slumps and she collapses over him.

They lay there, panting and recovering for what feels like hours as their chests heave and their bodies cool until Padme finds the strength to release him from her hold and roll to lay by his side. After a moment he moves too, pressing his chest to her back and wrapping a strong arm around her waist. " _When do you have to leave again?"_ She asks through their bond, not trusting the words to leave her mouth without something close to a sob. She wants him here when she faces the trials, needs his support even under the pretence of friendship. If he's off somewhere fighting the Senate's battles for them, it won't be the same.

" _Three days. Then after, I have a week of leave time."_ Reaching out, it only takes a flick of her wrist to bring her blanket up, surrounding them in its warmth as her eyes begin to drift closed. A week… Granted she is not sent off somewhere with her Master, they'll have a whole week to look forward to. Perhaps, if she's lucky enough her trial will be held then too, and they can have a celebration of their own… He listens to her thoughts, and she feels his lips against her shoulder, then, "I'll be here Padme. I promise you." They're always making empty promises to each other, she hopes this for once, isn't one of them. "I love you." He whispers for the first time tonight, and as sleep claims her, Padme sighs contently, he'll be here, she knows he will, he'll keep this promise even if he has to trudge through Sith hell to do it… And if he doesn't, he'll wish he were in Sith hell.


	2. Chapter 2

Every inch of her aches in some way or another. No limb is without some bruise or scrape marring once impeccable skin but the aesthetics are the very last thing on the Jedi's mind at the moment. Stepping aboard the enormous Republic ship " _The Resolute"_ brings nothing but sheer, unadultered _relief_ despite there being no welcome party to greet them. That doesn't matter, simply being aboard means the ordeal is over, that her men are safe once more and she see that they're treated by the medical droids here. Not one of them is unhurt, ten clones and a Jedi Knight and not _one_ of them made it out without a scrape. "Captain, take everyone to the medbay and see that they're treated. Then get some rest, I'll check in on all of you later." The Captain in question has already released his head from the mandatory helmet and nods once, muttering a quiet, "yes General." None of them were prepared for this… It was _supposed_ to be a simple mission - one any of them could do in their sleep! Protect the Senator then escort him home. She saw red when Master Windu gave her the task. It was an insult! She and her clones are better than this.

So much for that.

The clones vanish around the corner of the sterile hallway, some limping and others leaning on their brothers for support and she's glad to see them go. She feels like a damned nerf-herder! If she'd just sensed what the bastard was planning… They lost Fives in the crossfire because of her apparent inability to sense trouble. What kind of a Jedi is she?! Sagging back against the wall, the woman steals a moment to sigh and clear her mind. She wanted to be a Knight for _so long_ and now… Now, perhaps while they fight the Senator's war for them, Knighthood is not all it's cracked up to be. Aren't they supposed to be peacekeepers? That's what they preach, yet they're out on the front lines like soldiers… Are they both? Is it _possible_ to be both? When they're back on Coruscant, she should speak with Master Yoda… He'll know the answers she seeks.

A sudden spark of nervousness alights inside her chest, one she expected to feel the moment she stepped aboard. She felt his presence the moment the Council informed her he was coming… Can he feel her too? Has he felt her all this time? He's coming. It's surprising he's managed to hold off this long… Almost a miracle really. Perhaps Obi-Wan caught him in conversation, or Ahsoka wouldn't leave his side… Whatever the answer, she's glad he's on his way now. The sooner he is here the sooner… The sooner she can allow herself to think about… _It._

It takes a lot of conscious effort to keep her mind on other things, but she must do it. She desperately wishes to think about it but if she does he'll hear her and then he'll know. Though there's certainly temptation to take such a route – the easier route – she can't. It wouldn't be fair. He deserves to hear it from her lips, not sense it through some errant thought when they aren't even face to face. No, she'll do this the difficult way, the _normal_ way. Even if the mere thought of it makes her pounding heart wish for nothing more than to crash out of her chest, onto the cold floor by her feet.

She can do this! She is a Jedi Knight, a General of the Republic's army! She can face Anakin Skywalker and tell him what she must.

Less than a moment later, the man in question rounds the opposite corner to the one the clones stepped around and her heart leaps for much different reasons… Despite how he irritates her or drives her halfway to insanity, he is her beloved and she's _missed_ him… These past months have been near unendurable without him by her side – their one brief night together before she was sent off to Felucia wasn't enough. Sensing him from halfway across the Galaxy wasn't enough, especially when she felt him hurting, injured in some battle or another. She never longed for anything more than to be with him then… To make sure he was alright, to smack him on the head for being stupid enough to get hurt.

And yet all that is forgotten when he grins at her… That dashing smile she's missed so terribly wipes away any other thought than being in his arms. Sensing her thoughts, he moves faster, running toward her and Padme doesn't waste another moment in doing the same, meeting him halfway. As soon as she's close enough, Anakin's strong arms wrap themselves around her, pulling her to him and she feels herself being spun. Unable to stop it, delighted laughter flies free from her lips, filling the air surrounding the. " _I've missed you so much!_ " Her mind all but howls to him and the sentiment is echoed back from his own every bit as frantically while Anakin carefully sets her back down onto her feet, never once freeing her from his hold. There's barely a moment to _breathe_ before his lips are on hers and it's everything she's desperately needed these past few months. They're relentless with each other, tongues mating wetly as her hand slips into his hair, tugging on the wavy locks tightly with a moan. _This_ is what she needs… And so does he. She can feels the hot burn of arousal waking within him and it triggers her own powerfully – but they can't. Not now, not out here in the open. Anyone could walk by and see them.

With that in mind, the Jedi tears her lips from his and ignores his frustrated groan – _so childish_ – and instead moves two hands to stroke his cheeks softly. He's here… It hardly feels real… The thought almost drives her to kiss him all over again but unlike her lover, Padme has at least some scrap of self-control. "Thank you," she whispers, dropping her gaze to the floor, "for coming for us, I mean. We all would have died out there if you hadn't…" When she gets her hands on the bastard Tardun… After what he did, he should be strung up!

She hears him sigh, "We should have seen it coming, I rarely agree with your Master, but Senator Tardun is a serpent… When he asked for Jedi _and_ clone protection we should have said no." A moment later, in her mind she hears him again, " _It wasn't your fault."_ He knows her well… Or he heard her thoughts. Regardless, his words, both vocal and mental draw Padme's gaze back to his own as her hands fall to rest on his chest. How can he say that? Of course it's her fault! Fives is dead because of her… Because she couldn't sense the Senator's deception.

"We were ambushed," she grasps the dark leather of his tabard as the words slip through her lips. He knows well what happened but she needs to… She needs to say it out loud. The sleemo Senator Tardun led them into a Separatist death trap and vanished. When this war is over she'll hunt him down herself for this. "I can't believe the Separatists are using the ploy of peace talks to lure us into traps now. They've sunk too low." Are they truly so desperate to gain any sort of leverage that they'll use such underhand tactics to win? If _this_ is how they handle warfare she shudders to imagine what they'd do to the Republic if Dooku were to get his hands on it. As terribly as she hates the fighting and of late has been questioning the Jedi's place in this war, keeping Dooku and his influence out of the Republic is why they must fight… It's their duty to protect what little good is left in this Galaxy.

Another sigh escapes Anakin's lips and she feels just how _tired_ he is. He isn't as protective of the Republic and democracy as she is, only the Chancellor… His _dear_ friend. He hears her bitter thought but doesn't comment, sick of the same fight they endure over and over again with no resolution in sight. For that, she's grateful. She's tired too, but her fire burns still. The Separatists won't take that too. With a small tug, he has her pressed against his chest and she's happy to settle into him. The powerful thud of his heartbeat against her cheek is the most beautiful music she's ever heard; the only reassurance she needs in this Galaxy. Anakin's chin rests on her head and the moment offers such _peace_ that she's helpless to it. She hasn't felt peace in several long months and she bets he has not either.

Unfortunately, out in the open like this, such peace is doomed to destruction in one way or another so after a few blissful moments of quiet, Padme pulls back to once again look him in the eye. Anyone could see them out there like this and she's sure nobody is simple enough to believe such an embrace is shared between mere friends. He chuckles lowly when her thoughts drift over into his own mind and releases her from the cage of his arms with surprisingly little resistance. _"Let them see."_ She hears him in her own mind and rolls her eyes. He'd have them live how they do out in the open for everyone to see… There's a fine line between rebellion and stupidity. _"You're a Knight now, who cares if they know?"_

She cares! Just because she's not a Padawan anymore doesn't make what they… Are any less against the code. Why doesn't he understand that? Or, more accurately, why doesn't he _care_ about that? " _I am not being expelled from the Order just for you Skywalker, where are your quarters?"_ Her mind whispers back and in retaliation he merely rolls his eyes. But he does as she asks and begins walking, albeit silently, through the abandoned hallways. She's surprised Ahsoka hasn't come bounding out of nowhere to see her. The girl has become rather good at ruining their moments these days. She suspects it's become a game to Anakin's Padawan. This makes him chuckle with a shake of his head… The bond between those is really rather wonderful, it gives her hope that… Maybe he'll be just as good with…

Stop it! Anakin throws her an odd look, which she merely smiles away and slips her hand into his own to appease him. She can't slip up like that… Sometimes he can be a little on the slower side where logic is concerned but he's not an idiot. Any more thoughts like that and he'll figure it out. To fill the silence, she hears him say, "Ahsoka lost a bet to Rex. She's scrubbing the every helmet aboard for the rest of the evening." There is no holding back her laughter at the girl's misfortune; she must be the first person in the Galaxy to actually lose a bet to Rex…

"So I can expect her to be rather irritated first thing in the morning?"

"Oh, you can count on it."

Such conversations fill their walk to his quarters and it makes for a great distraction from what her mind wishes was the topic. She need only wait a little longer… Not thinking about any of this around him has been torture pure and simple. Once again she feels envious of other people whose minds belong only to themselves and nobody else… Yet such people could only dream of feeling so connected to the one they love as she does daily. Would she ever truly _want_ to lose this connection they share for a little peace?

There is no answer to such a question, at least not one she can find. It seems to be different every day.

It isn't until he allows her to step past the sliding door and inside his quarters that at last the sensation of true safety washes over the Jedi. There's no danger in here, no risk of being caught or overheard… Finally they're free to truly give into one another and she can at last tell him… Everything. With the touch of two buttons the door is locked and anything outside of the room is gone, forgotten entirely by the Jedi lovers who've waited much too long for this reunion. Anakin sinks down onto the edge of the bed and lifts two hands up, onto her waist to draw her closer and she goes to him willingly. Being in his presence again is intoxicating, freeing and utterly terrifying.

Now, she must tell him now. There's no other choice or path to choose. There'll be no better time than this for such a thing and any delay on her part would be nothing short of cowardice. "Ani…" She begins quietly, speaking vocally to him rather than merely sending her thoughts to him for such a revelation. It's only fair that he hear it out loud. What she carries within her is Galaxy shifting. Their lives shall never be the same again after this moment. She's no longer merely a Jedi Knight, a General of the Republic's army, a warrior at war, a peacekeeper, Anakin's lover… She's so much more than that because of this, and yet somehow what she cradles within her shall make her less than all those titles too. This could spell the end of everything and the beginning of something else entirely, or it'll pass over like a long night until a new dawn awakens and all that was born in the darkness must be kept there, for both their sakes. "I'm pregnant."

She watches his eyes widen for a moment before he glances away, releasing a deep, shuddering breath as he lets go of her waist and rises promptly from the bed, pushing past her for a step or two. She wasn't sure how he'd react to such a revelation when she found out for herself. He could either hate this or love it… Anakin has always been the master of unpredictability. Even now, she who has exclusive access to his mind can sense only a whirlwind of emotions from him. There is some happiness at least, but also, fear and shock… It's impossible to tell which the dominant of them is.

His back is turned to her for a moment, denying her the expression upon his face. The storm in his chest does not quieten even a little, effectively locking blocking the from the response she craves from him about her – _their_ news. He isn't happy… He can't be, or else he'd say something… Anything. Perhaps he's angry. Isn't it her fault for missing her pill? For forgetting about the risk in the heat of their reunion those months ago… "Anakin, I –" But there's no opportunity to speak further as the Jedi Knight's body spins quickly, so his gaze rests upon her again and at last the cyclone of battling feelings clears as his eyes rest on her stomach for a long moment. For a moment there's no fear, no shock just… Just happiness.

His smile blossoms first, followed quickly by laughter laced with elation and like everything with Anakin, the change comes so suddenly that she has no chance to react. "That… This… That's wonderful…" He's _happy_. He's actually happy about this… There's no denying it. He's not trying to hide it, she feels it seep out of him and attempt to envelope her too though she doesn't let it though she wants to terribly. One of them has to be rational and it's never been him. It only takes one stride for him to draw close to her again and though he offers her an excited embrace but Padme steps back. She can't be swept away by his emotions, not this time.

"Are you sure?" It's a ridiculous question; of course he's sure… She can hear his thoughts as if they're her own and there's no hiding the delight he feels – she wouldn't be surprised if the Council can feel it all the way back in the Temple! She can see it… What he imagines in his mind's eye… He's picturing himself with a little boy – _their_ boy – playing in the halls of a house, running through the rooms in some form of chase only with little model star ships in hand… It's a beautiful dream… One she wants as badly as he does but… But they can't… It's not going to…

Can he feel the terror tearing its way through her body? If he does, he says nothing about it which merely serves to irritate her. He _must_ know how she feels right now! She can see what he's imagining, so why is he ignoring her feelings? "You know what's going to happen, don't you?" That dream, the family life he's imaging… They can't have it. No Jedi raise their own offspring. "The baby – it's – _they're_ gonna have a high midichlorian count, any child of yours will… The council will want to take them." She pauses, glancing up at the ceiling, attempting to fight back the sudden assault of tears on her eyes. The last thing she needs is him realizing she's on the verge of crying. She's only known about the little one growing inside her for a few weeks and yet she still… It's nothing she's ever felt before. She's always been desired, wanted – loved even but now it's different. She's _needed_. Valued in the purest of ways… Never once before this has the thought of motherhood entered her mind, she hadn't ever dreamed it would be a path she'd take, but now she is on this path, she never wishes to look back.

"We'll have to give the baby up if we want to remain in the Order." She continues quickly, not giving him a chance to speak. It's an impossible decision laid out before them… The Order is all she's ever known, it's her _life_. He may have known a life before the Jedi as a boy but that is a luxury not afforded to her. This baby could change that, _forever_. "If we stay… We won't be parents Ani, I'll be sent away to have the baby then be expected to hand it over to the Creshe Master and never look back. The same will be expected of you. Could you live like that Anakin?" She needs to know… Is that a life he could stomach? Watching their baby, the product of their love, grow up from afar, and being nothing to the little one other than a Knight of the Order or perhaps merely a face in the halls. She isn't sure she ever could.

When he reaches for her again and this time, she lets him. His hands land on her shoulders, grasping her there tightly and his lips thin. The worry she felt earlier from him, the fear, she can sense it rapidly drowning the happiness he felt before and taking its place in his heart. He hasn't considered any of this. To be fair, he hasn't had as long to think about this as she has… Well, he's thinking now and she hopes he thinks fast. "That's not going to happen." He swears, and she watches the male lump in his throat bob as he swallows. "We'll figure something out, I promise you." She _wants_ to believe him, but how can she? How can any of this turn out alright? This baby could destroy _everything_ … Or it could be the most beautiful blessing either of them have ever been given. Anakin sends a soothing touch through the Force and she allows it to wash over her, leaning further into him. His arms come around her once more and despite everything she relaxes in his embrace. "Everything will be alright." He whispers into her hair before pressing a soft kiss there. "Our baby," something flutters in her stomach at those words coming from him, "belongs with us. Nothing's going to come between us, I swear it."

" _Force help us_." She whispers into his mind and the only response she receives is his arms tightening around her.


	3. Chapter 3

It's a strange feeling, not falling into breathlessly into bed for a tumble in the sheets the moment they're able to… Usually the very second they're alone or at least hidden from the eyes of others, they're tearing at each other's clothes until at last the physical aspect of their bond could be sated at. But not tonight. After the revelation of her pregnancy, sex has been the very last thing on either of their minds… There's too much to think about, to plan and worry over. If they want to keep this baby, then they have agree on something, make a plan and set it in motion. There is only so long she can depend on her cloak to disguise the evidence, she's beginning to show.

Despite all of that, there is something rather soothing and intimate about relaxing fully clothed together in bed, just like they used to as young Padawans, where the extent of their intimacy was stolen lazy hours to sleep in each other's arms. From time to time, Padme caught herself yearning for those days. Nothing was as complicated then, when nothing between them couldn't be resolved by a lingering embrace and murmured apologies… Today, however, it is not Anakin's embrace which calms Padme's worries, but the sensation of a hand – his flesh hand – creeping lower from its resting position beneath her breasts to caress the subtle curving of her stomach. The act in itself is sweet enough, but the near overwhelming _joy_ she senses from him inspires a strange uninvited wetness to her eyes. Padme _is not_ a crier… It isn't in her nature to allow herself to become overly emotional about trivial things – she is not like Anakin in that regard. He feels and she thinks. She's always thought it's why they're so well suited to one another.

And yet, the tenderness of the moment leads her to cover his hand with her own and the smile she feels against her neck pales in comparison to the wave of love he sends her, it crashes into her mind leaving her near giddy from the intensity. He's never loved her like this before, or if he has, he kept it well hidden. Anakin has always made her feel loved, even when they were children and she teased him or was too stubborn to grant him the affection she feels for him. Sometimes, he'd joke that no one in the Galaxy would be willing to put up with her the way he did, and he was right. There was _no one_ else in the galaxy who could love her as much as Anakin does, just as there is no one in the galaxy who could ever hope to love him as much as she does. It's impossible. Despite her wish for privacy from him to think on her own from time to time, Padme _truly_ believes they were made for one another, carved piece by piece to suit one another by the Force itself.

Perhaps intoxicated by her loving thoughts, Anakin begins to whisper into her ear about a life they could have if the Jedi Council _were_ to turn their backs on them… A simple, quiet life, no battles or politics to tear them apart for months at a time. "We can settle somewhere peaceful, somewhere quiet… Where nobody would ever know who we once were. I could find work as a mechanic and we'll get a house-"

"If you're getting me a house," Padme can't resist interrupting his little fantasy, "Then I want the nicest one around." Behind her, he chuckles and she closes her eyes letting his imaginings wash over her mind to see exactly what he sees. "It had better be surrounded by meadows and lakes. Any child of yours is going to have enough energy to power the whole of Coruscant; I'll need plenty of ways to let them burn it off." An energetic, force sensitive child of the Chosen One? She'll need an _army of_ nanny droids to keep the little one in check.

With a fond kiss to the spot of skin where pulse beats, Anakin pulls her closer still, pressing their bodies flush against one another as she speaks. She hasn't felt him _this_ relaxed in the longest time… In truth, she struggles to recall the last time she'd been so calm either. They _shouldn't_ be calm, they should be working themselves into a blind panic, but just for now, she indulges in the daydream. They can panic later.

"Any child of _yours_ is going to have a wit far too quick for me to keep up with. I'll be hopeless in arguments." He kisses her neck again, lingering this time and shifting slightly to suck at the sweet spot just below her ear – he _knows_ what that does to her! In retaliation, Padme pushes back against him, grinding her backside in the way sheknows _he_ can't resist. The responding mix of a choked breath and a grunt makes her smile proudly. No one else could ever make him respond so quickly. Anakin Skywalker is well and truly _hers_.

"Do you need me to stand up to our baby for you?" Padme teases and the flash of slight indignation she senses from him is enough to turn her smile into a sly smirk against the pillow. There is always one thing more satisfying than loving the Chosen One and that is riling him up. So powerful and yet so incredibly easy to annoy… This time, Anakin's response isn't verbal but physical, as the thick leather covering cold metal fingers reach down to pinch roughly at her rear, tearing a sharp gasp from the Jedi. Before Padme can say anything else, he grows quiet suddenly. No more teasing or sniggering. The quiet is peculiar, especially for Anakin, but Padme leaves him to his thoughts. Maybe he's just tired? It wouldn't be the first time he'd drifted off to sleep pressed against her like this. But no, he isn't sleeping, his mind is far from the tranquil space it should be for that. He's awake… Just quiet.

After a few minutes of the silence and the warmth of their embrace, sleep almost claims Padme when Anakin shifts behind her, startling her mind out of the lazy drowsiness that has set in. "We should marry," he declares suddenly, "Before the baby comes."

 _Marry_? Her thoughts have never drifted to marriage – it isn't the Jedi way, though _none_ of this is the Jedi way, she supposes. Why should they marry? What effect would that have on this situation they're in? Marriage is for other people – non Jedi who've led a relatively normal life… She and Anakin are _not_ those people. It's a way of binding yourself to someone, perhaps for love, perhaps for other reasons, but they don't need that – they're bonded already. What more could _marriage_ do for them that the force has not already?

Hearing her thoughts, his own are washed into her mind in return. "I – I want things to be proper, Padme, to do right by you and the baby. I… In Tatooine, I saw what happened to unmarried mothers. So many of the children's fathers took no responsibility for their families and they all suffered for it." Careful not to interrupt him with her thoughts, Padme moves in his arms, rolling over so to face him as he speaks. Anakin _never_ speaks of his childhood before coming to the Temple; she knows so little about what happened to him then, only the awful fate that claimed his mother and the occasional flashing of images from his dreams or errant thoughts. She's never pried too deeply into his past, never pressuring him to speak on it to feed her curiosity. Some things are better unspoken and unknown. "I won't be like them," he swears, and she can feel that oath resonate to the very Force itself. "There'll _never_ be a day where I'm not by your side, loving you both and protecting you."

"Anakin…" She whispers, unwanted tears pricking once more at her eyes. His clear devotion to her and this child makes her heart swell in her chest… More often than not she can be snappy with him, ungrateful for all he has done for her and their relationship, but she loves him. Padme _loves_ him, and despite the unfamiliar and slightly frightening idea of what's to come, she knows if he asked it of her, she'd marry him in a heartbeat. "I love you… And this baby is going to love you so much."

As always, when his lips meet hers the familiar tingling warmth seeps through her body, warming her skin and leaving her shivering both at once. A rare tender kiss between them feels like both salvation and torture rolled into one, a sensation shared mutually and entirely adored. Perhaps sweeter than the physical feel of Anakin's lips on her own, is the invisible caress of the force against her cheek, a hand but not a hand to touch her so lovingly, Padme could scarcely tell the difference between this and his own touch anymore.

The sweetness, however, isn't given an opportunity to thrive for long, the moment their lips part, Anakin's low whisper fills the quarters and any tenderness dies the moment the words reach her ears. "You're not going back out there to fight anymore. It's too dangerous." At once, the Jedi sits up and tries to battle down the surge of anger his words create. Just because she is carrying his child does _not_ give him the right to dictate what she does!

"What? You _do not_ tell me what to do Anakin." She growls dangerously and unsurprisingly an anger of his own bursts to life within him, never a good sign, but Padme ignores it in favour of scowling at him. Words of passion in the heat of the moment in their passion do not mean she belongs to him and she makes sure he hears _that_ thought in particular. It works, Anakin shoots up and glowers furiously at her.

Caught between his anger and the new born urge to be patient with her because of the baby, Padme senses something else within him… Disbelief perhaps? It's difficult to understand without reaching out to him, something she won't give him the pleasure of doing right now. "You can't seriously _want_ to go back out there?"

Honestly, she hasn't thought about it at all… But he doesn't get to make demands of her, not now, not ever! If she chooses to return to the battlefield, it is _her_ decision. She'll be careful, of course, there'd be no unnecessary risks, her baby's life won't be in any danger. Being pregnant doesn't mean she can't do her duty, does it? There _must_ be a way keep her child and the Republic safe…

"I haven't made my decision yet," she tells him haughtily, looking anywhere but his eye as she senses his outrage swell with her words. "You have no say in such things." Those words are dangerous, especially with the anger crackling between them, she's baiting Anakin's storm, daring him to _roar_ , but she just can't help herself. She feels it before he says anything, the attempt at patience from before is gone, washed away by a sudden surge of hot _fury_ borne of her insensitive words.

"While it's _my_ baby you're carrying, I have _just_ as much say in the this as you do, Padme!" He yells and for a moment she worries that this is too loud – that anyone passing by outside could easily overhear what they're saying. But the thought dies away quickly under a wave of guilt. He's right, she _knows_ he is… But as always, she's far too stubborn to concede to him right now, so instead, she selfishly avoids his eye again and quietens her mind as best she can.

Before another word can be exchanged between them, a loud _thump_ resounds from the door, followed by another and one more after that… Anakin climbs out of the bed with a sigh and storms toward the door, slamming his hand violently down onto the button, prompting the twin doors to slide open revealing Artoo on the other side. Usually, Padme finds the droid nothing short of a delight, especially when he offers his aid in tormenting his master, but at the moment, she'd rather the droid left them to it.

As usual, the beeps and whistles emitted by the droid are meaningless to Padme, but an established language to Anakin. "What now?" He barks unfairly to his little friend and she shakes her head with a sigh… This is not how things were supposed to happen. He just – he _knows_ better than to say things like that, it sets her off without a second thought. Padme knows the fault lies solely with her and her words, that she should _never_ have said he didn't have a say where the baby is involved… It was cruel and untrue. She needs to apologise, she decides.

More whistles and beeps beyond her recognition fill the room are followed quickly by Anakin's tired sigh and that alone is enough to draw her eyes to her fellow Jedi once again. What's going on? Artoo wouldn't have come here to disturb them over nothing, he must have been sent here by Rex or Ahsoka maybe?

" _Alright,"_ he groaned, "Find Ahsoka and tell her I want her ready to leave in five standard minutes." In response, the astromech bleeped and slowly reversed back outside of the quarters to find little Tano. He was leaving… She'd hoped that at least, they'd have a day or two together to plan ahead, to _think_ of the future but as usual the war had other ideas. "Padme…" He called, but her mouth simply refused to comply with her mind, remaining firmly clamped shut.

What should she say? Goodbye? I'm sorry?

" _I'll take both."_ Anakin's voice whispers into her mind, the sound a familiar caress she'd never tire of even in the midst of the worst arguments between them. Once more, it pulls her eyes toward him and part of Padme is equal parts delighted and relieved to see how his face has softened in the short moments she'd been looking elsewhere. If he's leaving, she doesn't want to leave things on a bitter note between them – especially not after how beautifully it had begun. She knows _exactly_ what danger lies out there and what they risk by fighting for the security of the Republic… To part on bad terms when each separation carries the possibility to last a lifetime was unthinkable.

"Ahsoka and I have to meet Obi-Wan on Ryloth." He stretches out his flesh hand, in an offer, perhaps of peace or of forgiveness but regardless, Padme accepts it and allows him to gently tug her from the bed to stand before him. "Promise me you won't go back out there, Padme, _please…_ " Both hands, real and cybernetic come to rest on her arms as something akin to frightened desperation comes over his face, she has _never_ seen him look like this before, not even in the worst dangers they'd ever faced together and the sight leaves her speechless. Did he really think something would happen if she did her duty? Is _that_ what he's so afraid of? There _is_ a risk, large or small depending on the mission or task, but if she is called out, she'd be careful!

Whether from her thoughts or physical silence, she feels his impatience with her spike again, growing closer to anger than concern as his fingers begin to tighten their grasp on her arms until it almost hurts, but Padme does nothing to shrug him off or warn him to let go. " _Promise me!"_ He barks and for the first time in all their years together, Padme flinches away from him, not in fear... But… She never did like the anger in him, especially not in the rare times it was directed at her.

"I promise." She nods, and the sheer _relief_ that explodes within his Force signature and spreads through his tense body is worth fighting past her innate stubbornness. With anything else, she might have denied him his answer just to frustrate him further but this… The safety of their _baby_ isn't to be toyed with, Padme understands that. If he really wants her to stay away from the fighting, then Padme loves him enough to respect that. Anakin meets her eyes, thoughts racing too quickly to decipher, and she expects him to swoop down and take her lips in one last desperate goodbye that'll leave her skin tingling for hours after he leaves. But he doesn't. Instead, he _disappears_ suddenly.

Anakin drops to one knee before her leaving Padme stunned, wide eyed, and wordless, watching as his long, fingers carefully push up the coarse green material which covers her stomach upwards, exposing Padme's now slightly rounded flesh to the cool cabin air. "I'll be back soon." He whispers and she can feel the warmth of his breath against her skin. Is he speaking to her? Something inside of her, something different from the bond they share whispers _no._ These words aren't for Padme. They're not between lovers, but a father and his child. It's a moment she has no part in. Anakin's fingers press unsurely against her skin and after a moment, his lips follow. "Stay safe for me. Be strong."

He stands as suddenly as he bent, and Padme immediately reaches out for his shoulders, pressing her body against his. How long are they going to be parted now? Weeks? Months? What is she supposed to do without him now? She must hide the evidence of the baby from everyone around her and find a reason to _not_ lead her battalion out into the war whilst still remaining within the Jedi Order. Her former Master was going to be the most difficult to deceive, and Padme hates that she has to lie to him. But if he knew the truth… She and Anakin would be separated and Padme would be expected to deliver the baby to the Creshe after giving birth. That wasn't something either of them can do. Not ever.

"Anakin…" Padme began, caressing his cheeks softly as they press their foreheads together. "I'm afraid." It isn't easy to admit and she senses the same from him, but it has to be done. They have to be honest with each other if they're going to get through this. Though his eyes are shut, Padme feels his relief at her words and his fear that he won't make it back in time.

"I know." He whispers and then pulls back to press his lips to her forehead for a moment. "But have faith, my love. Everything will be alright. Go back to Coruscant and stay in the Temple. I won't be long, I promise. Whatever is happening in Ryloth can be dealt with quickly. Wait for me, please."

Padme nods without hesitation and leans up on her tiptoes to meet him halfway when his lips seek hers. It's rough and desperate and their emotions sweep across one another, wrapping them up in their love and fear. It's as addictive as it is terrifying. When they eventually part, Anakin strokes her cheek fondly and runs his nose along hers. "Wait for me." He whispers again and then turns on his heel, forcing himself to leave before he can't muster the will. The doors slide shut behind him after a moment and Padme stands there, frozen and alone as if waiting for him to turn around, to change his mind and come back. But he doesn't, and she never thought that he wouldn't.

" _I love you._ " She calls out to his mind and feels the usual joyous leap of his heart upon hearing those words from her. Before he has a chance to repeat the sentiment, her mind speaks to his again, reaching out and enveloping him in her love, thrusting it upon him, making it so clear that he could never forget it for even a moment. " _Come back to me. To us."_

" _Always_."

 _ **A/N: Just a short little chapter to ease us back into the story! It'll be updated more regularly now, I promise! Please review.**_


	4. Chapter 4

She falls into an easy routine after returning to the Temple. Wake up, endure the nauseating sickness that accompanied pregnancy, empty the contents of her stomach in the refreshment unit, dress, meditate, train, eat, train, meditate, sleep and then repeat. It's mundane and it's boring. It lasts for several weeks until the Council deems her recovered enough from the attack to be shipped out again. At first, Padme makes any excuse that she can, she's still unwell, her lightsaber needs repair, her connection to the Force feels fragile and deep meditation must be undertaken before she can fight again. But the Council, and especially her former Master, have grown tired of waiting for her.

Mace Windu finds her as she leaves the training hall sweaty and suffering from the heat of wearing her heavy cloak throughout her workout and the deep scowl upon his face makes the Jedi sigh. She knows that face well. He's unhappy with her. "Master Windu," Padme greets him warmly, smiling as best she can. "What can I do for you?"

"You seem to be feeling better now." He notes with narrowed eyes and it's all she can do to not to grimace. This conversation has been looming since her return, and she has run out of reasons to _not_ go out there anymore. She'd hoped Anakin might have returned by now, even just for a day at least so they could speak and plan and understand what they need to do. But there has been no word from him or Obi-wan and Ahsoka. But she has sensed him every single day, every moment… Padme can feel his growing frustration in his never-ending mission, his desire to return to her and every now and again, his desire _for_ her. The last threatens to leak a secret smile upon her lips.

"I am." She agrees, glancing toward the Jedi Master as they walk side by side through the high walled halls of the Temple. Padme's mind works faster than it ever has; attempting to form a plan, to find something _anything_ that might save her from what comes next. She doesn't want to break her promise to Anakin, but if there is no reason for her to stay here, save from revealing her condition, what else can she do?

"Good." Mace's face contorts into something close to a smile, "Because I need your help. We have received intel that Count Dooku has been storing information vital to the war in the war room of the Geonosis arena. I'm about to depart with twenty men and I would appreciate your aid."

Part of Padme thrills at the idea. Information hidden by Dooku himself might be priceless to the Republic; it could spell the end of the war if it was detailed enough. She wants to be a part of retrieving it, truly. But she can't. Such information will be heavily guarded by battle droids. It could be a trap for all they know. It's a risk, a big one, and she _promised_ she wouldn't go out there. Without realising, her fingers trace across her stomach for a moment, until she catches herself and forces her hand back down to her side. The evidence of the baby is getting more and more difficult to hide. She's not large with it, not yet. But it's visible, noticeable without her cloak. If she goes to Geonosis, Mace will see it if she has to take it off…

"I…" Padme begins and watches her former Master begin to frown.

"You what?"

"I can't." She says and then tries not to wince. There is _no_ justifiable reason to not accompany him on this mission, none. But there _has_ to be. She must think of something logical enough to convince him in the next five standard seconds or else… "I just… I don't know if I'm up to it quite yet."

"' _Up to it?'"_ He repeats her, enunciating every syllable and making Padme cringe. "It's a simple mission, Padme. If this is beyond your capability, then perhaps the Council was wrong to grant you the rank of Knight."

Panic flares through her at his words, at the thought of all her work and effort and accomplishments being taken away. "N-no, of course it's not. I only mean that –"

"You've been out of active duty for almost a month now, Padme. For a Jedi who is uninjured, this is unheard of."

"Yes, I understand." She feels like a scolded Padawan again and catches herself on the verge of calling him Master.

"Good." Windu nods. "Now, our transport has arrived. Conduct yourself well on this excursion, Knight Amidala; the Council have noticed your recent inactivity."

Bowing her head, Padme nods, swallowing down the acidic taste of guilt in her throat. _I'm sorry, Anakin_. She whispers within her mind and hopes he'll never hear it. _I'm sorry._

* * *

Padme barely listens as Mace outlines their objectives to her and the Clones, her head races for the entirety of the hyperspace trip to Geonosis. She feels _sick_ with worry and guilt at being here at all. If Anakin knew… She can't think about it. Her fingers tremble and her heartbeat pounds in her ears. _It's fine,_ she tells herself silently, _it's going to be fine. It's a simple recon mission._ They'll be in and out. The Clones will do most of the blasting and battling the droids while she and Mace slip in to find the information. With any luck, it'll be in plain sight and easy to take. The latest intel said that Dooku had returned to the Separatist Parliament on Raxulon which meant less danger.

But that didn't make her feel any better about this. As bored as she was with the stagnated routine in the Temple, Padme would rather be there than here. Her knee can't stop bouncing as the ship soars through the stars, edging them closer and closer to their destination. The flight seems to pass in the blink of an eye and before she knows it, the ship drops them out of Hyperspace and the piloting Clones begin the process of landing.

The heavy heat of Geonosis slams against Padme the moment she steps off of the ship. It's like walking into a wall. Her breath is stolen and what little she can force into her lungs feels humid and far from fresh. What little breeze there is, is equally punishing and full of sand. After a few moments, she gives up attempting to wipe her face clean of it and trudges after Mace, keeping her fist wrapped tightly around her lightsaber. Every sound no matter how little makes her start. She's on edge, fearful and focused, readying herself for anything.

"I have a bad feeling about this." She whispers, but Mace and the Clones simply ignore her. As they draw closer to the bunker, battle droids become clear, as do their droid-like voices chit chatting to one another about nothingness. Padme grips her lightsaber tighter. They edge closer to the wall and then finally, shoot their grappling hooks and begin to climb. The Clones go first, preparing to charge into battle the moment they're over and Padme and Mace follow closely behind.

Her extra weight surprisingly doesn't hinder her ability to climb the cable; it's as easy as ever to pull her body upwards, though she _does_ call upon the Force for a little help so as to avoid straining herself too much. She needs to keep her energy. As soon as the first Clones reach the top, she hears Ponds, the Commander of Windu's battalion give the signal and they charge off giving a loud battle cry followed by the unmistakable sounds of blaster fire. When Padme eases herself over the edge, most of the droids are already down, but a handful remain and she ignites her lightsaber to deflect the bright red plasma soaring through the air. When she comes close enough, she reaches out with her hand and sends the remaining droids crashing against the dusty beige walls, rendering them useless. Only a moment later, she hears the shocked cry of the final droid when her former Master's lightsaber pierced its chest.

With the first set of droids dealt with, Padme feels slightly better. If this is all the danger they must face, perhaps this mission won't be so terrible after all. They step inside the shadowy bunker and she begrudgingly switches off her blade after Mace does the same. It's quiet inside, barely lit. A thick layer of sandy dust has settled itself onto every layer in the room as if no one has stepped foot in here since the battle before the beginning of the war. Something inside Padme tingles in warning. If the intel was right, Dooku would be here… The room would be used, lived in. But it isn't. It's abandoned. "There's nothing here." She says, and her words echo throughout the room.

Windu gives a sound of agreement and steps toward the typing devices built into the walls, pushing the buttons to attempt to wake the machines. "Look around." He commands. "See if there is anything worth our time here. Appearances can be deceiving."

Padme does as she is bid, trying each and every device, testing them for signs of life but each monitor remains black and dead. Anakin would be far better at this than her, she thinks. He knows droids and technology better than anyone. If there is something hidden here, he would find it in a heartbeat. Just the thought of her beloved sends a wave of stabbing guilt through her chest. But it's okay… It's fine. There's nothing here. There is no danger. Maybe he won't be _too_ angry with her when he finds about this…

Her fingers swipe away a thick layer of dust as she works the controls, attempting to reboot the system. For a moment, the screen flashes to life, projecting a large spherical shape into the centre of the room, it's large and looks over everything, and with the small traces of words beside it, it seems to be some sort of plans, but for what, Padme can't decipher. It flickers and dies away just as quickly as it flared to life leaving the room in darkness once more.

"What was that?" Windu asks, stepping closer.

"I'm not sure, exactly…" She tries the controls again, but this time there's nothing. "It looked like a plan of some kind."

"This must be what we're looking for." He nods and Padme bites into the inside of her cheek as she concentrates. After a moment, the screen flashes to life once more but the holo does not follow. Just as she moves to press another button, something in the air changes suddenly, turning bitter and cold. A warning within the Force.

"Something isn't right," Padme whispers and sees Mace nod. She reaches for her lightsaber again as he steps backwards focusing upon the tunnelled doorway on the opposite side of the room. "What is it?" Does he sense something? She shouldn't have come here, there _must_ have been some reason to get out of it, something she didn't bother to think of. Now Padme is trapped here with Force only knows what stepping through the tunnel toward them, putting herself in danger and worse, the baby too. Her palms feel sweaty against the hilt of her blade and her heart pounds hard and fast inside her chest.

"Dooku is here." Mace declares without looking at her and Padme almost drops her lightsaber. No. No, that can't be right. It isn't possible. But now that he has said it, she can't _not_ connect the deep black dread in the Force to the approach of the Sith. White-hot terror seizes her body awakening the need to flee within her, one that battles with her inherent desire to save the day. That part of her whispers that this could be their chance, their opportunity to capture and arrest Dooku now and end this war. They have a chanceto save _countless_ lives… But she _can't._ It's only Padme and Mace here and no backup could ever hope to reach them in time. If Anakin and Obi-wan couldn't take him down, what chance did they have?

Within the fear, a strange, foreign anger wakes up in Padme as she imagines the battle between the three men here. How Obi-wan's leg had been burned and scarred. How Anakin lost the bottom half of his right arm. Dooku did that. And part of her hates him for it, though she knows that she shouldn't. Hatred is a path to the Dark Side. But so is fear, and she is quaking with that now.

"Well, well, we weren't sure if you were coming." Drawls a voice from the tunnel, calm and almost smug as it comes closer, nearing the dim light in which they stand. Padme's gaze flicks frantically between Mace and the tunnel, but he doesn't return her glance. His stare is glued to the entrance of the tunnel. At last, the uncloaked figure of Count Dooku steps into the light, narrow eyed and almost irritated. "I had hoped to see Master Yoda again."

"Dooku." Mace spat. "We should have sensed a trap."

"Yes." A lightsaber borne of fire roared to life, glaring crimson in the bleak light. "You should have."

Mace shrugs off his cloak and it pools in a dark puddle by his feet, then his own lightsaber, the brilliant purple blade hisses awake and Padme's green plasma followed suit. Dooku charges toward them and the three blades collide, hissing fiercely at the contact as they strike against one another time and time again. She and her former Master fall into old routines, dancing around one another as if they'd never worked apart, he ducks when Padme strikes, knocking the Sith Lord back a step or two, and she works her way to the back of the older man, forcing his attention to be split between them both.

It works. It works until it doesn't. Mace is sent flying backwards across the sandy room suddenly, crashing against the wall consoles with a pained grunt and leaving Padme alone with Dooku. The man's eyes wander across the length of her in disgust, the corners of his lips twisting downward to further his disapproval. " _This_ is what the Jedi Order deems worthy of Knighthood now?" He spits, "And I thought Skywalker was bad…"

At the mention of his name, Padme falters, caught between guilt at her presence here and the same rush of anger toward Dooku for what he'd done to Anakin. It is not the Jedi way to carry grudges like this, but she can't help it. Her palm wraps tighter around the cold hilt of her lightsaber, and it feels slack in her grip thanks in no small part to the sweat that coats her skin. Without thought, she rushes at him, batting blow after blow each of which are blocked easily – too easily. Red plasma meets green again and again as memories of her Ani swim through Padme's mind. She remembers running to find him in the medical-bay, unconscious and pale and missing half his arm. She remembers how it pained him, how his confidence was shaken at not being wholly himself anymore. She remembers how long it took him to touch her with the newest part of himself in fear that she might love him less. Dooku did that. He caused him that pain.

Padme's anger grows, and she slashes her lightsaber across the Sith's shoulder, the blow just barely reaches his flesh, but it burns nonetheless. He gives an agonised cry and she hears Mace pull himself up behind her. "You're a fool." Dooku declares. "All of you are fools. You serve an outdated, dogmatic Order ruled by pride and worse, you willingly serve the corrupt and ruined Senate who views you as mere blaster-fodder. Your arrogance blinds you, as does your anger. I can feel it."

His words hit Padme close to home; her emotions are swirling out of control. If Dooku can sense it then so can Mace and _that_ is a dangerous thing. "And you serve the Dark Side. It will fail you, I promise you that. How many apprentices has your Master had before you, Count? How many of them are alive today?"

Dooku barks a cruel laugh. "You're clever, I'll give you that. But you're no Jedi… Your emotions rule your judgement and _that_ is that is what has failed you today." His long arm stretches toward her, but Padme barely notices it as her focus is claimed by his words. No Jedi? That's preposterous. He is merely trying to insult her. To cut her pride and hope she lashes out before Mace can rejoin them. But she doesn't have another moment to think about it. She's sent flying backwards suddenly, colliding with the sand wall with such force, that her head and spine explode in fierce pain. But the pain of the fall pales in comparison to the blazing agony of the crackling energy that shoots from Dooku's fingertips and envelops Padme's entire body.

She screams as the Sith lightning tears through her body, racking its way between her bones and throughout her flesh. For several moments, she loses the ability to breathe, to think, all she can do is feel the burn as it hits her again and again and again until it stops. Smoke fills Padme's nostrils suddenly and she tastes bile in her throat. Is she on fire? It certainly feels that way. Distantly, through the ringing in her ears, she hears a strange thumping and realises that it's footsteps. Though it's difficult, and it hurts, Padme forces herself to look up toward the approcher and sucks a breath into her unwilling lungs. Dooku.

"Pathetic." She hears him say and then all she can feel is the sharp pain of the Sith's boot colliding with her stomach, forcing a loud grunt from her lips. A lightsaber hisses to life somewhere in the room as the world fades into blackness and her thoughts are of her baby and willing it to be alright as with the final scrap of her energy, Padme's fingers reach for her stomach.

* * *

She wakes with a gasp, bolting upwards on the small medical bench, eyes wide and panting. At first, panic strikes Padme as she looks around the sterile chamber for any sign of Dooku, but it fades after a few moments when her overworked mind finally recognises the medical bay of the Temple. _She's home_ … But they were in Geonosis! She can't have been out for the entire trip back… Could she? Her thoughts suddenly turn to her former Master and panic rises in her chest again. Is he alright? Did he defeat Dooku?

Padme swings her legs over the edge of the cot just as the doors pull apart to reveal the Chief Healer, Vokara Che, herself stepping into the room, a gruff, blue skinned twi'lek woman whose passion for medicine was outshone only by her bitter dislike of those who didn't take health and healing as seriously as she did. She had always been very nice to Padme, save for a time or two when Anakin had returned to the Temple and been put into a healing trance and she'd demanded to see him, causing quite the scene…

"You're up," Vokara notes, typing something into a holopad in her hands. "Good. I want to run a full body diagnostic on you to make sure the trance has done its work."

A full body diagnostic? No. She can't do that, the machines would pick up on the baby within minutes and then her condition would be put onto her official records… The Council would find out… "No!" Padme cries before she can stop herself. "That's alright. I feel fine, really. How is Master Windu? What happened?"

"He's alright. Cut and bruised. Angry that Dooku evaded capture once more, I'm afraid. Now listen, Knight Amidala," Padme shakes her head, cutting Vokara off and edging closer to the end of the bed to stand on her weak legs. If she can just make it out of here and to her quarters, everything will be fine. Now she knows her old friend is alright, she'll rest and sleep off the jittery pains that linger from the force of Dooku's lightning.

"No, honestly, I'm fine. I just need a little sleep, that's all." As soon as Padme's feet hit the ground resting her full weight on her legs, a strange squeezing feeling creeps along her stomach, making her frown slightly. Suddenly she feels… Off… Something isn't right. But she can't stay here. She'll feel better after getting some sleep in her own bed and checking in on Mace to make sure he's okay.

"Well, if you're sure…?" Vokara sounds unsure and Padme forces a smile for the other woman's sake, though her cheeks battle the effort all the way to the end. The squeezing sensation inside her stomach tightens, stealing the Jedi's breath for a moment as it verges on painful. "I can give you something for the pain if you'd like? If it's still there."

At that, Padme nods vigorously. Normally she prefers to let pain ebb and flow naturally, believing pain meds to be a hindrance to one's connection to the Force, but today she'll make an exception. Her stomach begins to cramp painfully, but it's nothing she can't handle. She's felt far worse pains in her life. Dooku's lightning is merely taking its toll on her body, once she swallows the pills and lays down, it'll be fine. When Vokara has them ready, Padme takes the small plastic bottle and pretends to listen to the instructions before bolting out of the Hall of Healing as quickly as she can.

She doesn't go to see Master Windu, deciding to rest first and let her body recover before they talk. He'll want to go over everything that happened in detail and discover what can be learned from the encounter before they report it to the Council. Padme just doesn't have the energy for that right now. The sight of the door to her quarters has never been a more welcome one in all her life and after typing the security pin into the small keypad outside, she slips inside and locks the door behind her. A sense of security washes over the Jedi at last. She's on her own. She can relax and get her damned cloak off.

She slips the heavy material off of her overheated body and tosses it onto the bed with a sigh. It's _hot_ in here which is odd because this wing of the Temple is infamously cooler than the rest. Anakin always claims to be _freezing_ every night they stay here. But Padme feels herself sweating through her clothing and she lifts a hand up to brush against her damp forehead. _This can't be just the effects of Sith lighting_ … Suddenly, her vision swims, leaving the Jedi dizzy and nauseous and she takes a step toward the small dresser in order to balance herself upon it. The moment she moves, however, a crippling, cutting pain slices through Padme's abdomen, tearing a loud cry from the woman as she falls forward against the dresser. The pain is unbearable. It's like nothing she's ever felt before. Between her legs feels wet, slick, as if she'd failed to reach the refresher in time and the Jedi quickly reaches down, slipping her palm into her trousers desperate to disprove what she is beginning to understand with a terrible sinking feeling. _No, no no… Please no…_

When she pulls it back, her palm is covered in blood.


End file.
